Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra ~ Festa d’Italia

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra will offer a two day "Celebration of American-Italian Contributions to New Orleans Culture" on February 22nd & 23rd. You can enjoy food, music and fashion! *cheer* It all begins with a concert on Friday the 22nd at 7:30pm in McAlister Auditorium on the Tulane University campus. On Saturday from 11:00am to 4:00pm, a bunch of restaurants and stores on Canal Street will offer fun for the whole family ~ street art, food, music and more. The festivities conclude that night with a grand ball.

Festa d’ Italia
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

New Orleans, LA
Friday, 02/22/08 & Saturday, 02/23/08
http://www.lpomusic.com/index.php?q=festaditalia

Christmas Lights ~ Celebration in the Oaks at City Park

It is time for City Park's annual, spectacular Celebration in the Oaks! This is a tradition in NOLA. Amazing Christmas light displays and musical performances will be on view. You can visit nightly through December 30th, 2007 ~ except for X-mas eve and day when it will be closed.

Celebration in the Oaks

City Park

New Orleans, LA

Tickets :

$6.00

Children under 3 years of age admitted free

Friends of City Park also get free admission

Hours :

Sunday to Thursday 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Friday & Saturday 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Video of legendary Jazz man Punch Miller

Klikonojazz kindly put this amazing video of Punch Miller on YouTube. It captures Punch walking through the French Quarter to Preservation Hall, then playing and singing Sister Kate. Awesome!

A bit about the legendary Jazz trumpet playing musician..... Ernest "Kid Punch" Miller (1894 to 1971) was born in Louisiana. Lived in New Orleans and Chicago. He played with many famous musicians, such as Kid Ory & Jelly Roll Morton. A touching documentary entitled Til the Butcher Cuts Him Down was filmed about him in 1971 ~ the same year he died.

Crescent City Blues Festival ~ October 19th & 20th

Music and New Orleans ~ they are woven together in my mind. Here is another chance to enjoy amazing musicians! The Second Annual Crescent City Blues Festival will take place on Friday, October 19th and Saturday, October 20th. Best of all...... it is FREE!

Sooooo many great singers and bands will be playing on two stages. Do you remember Bryan Lee ~ the blind guitarist featured at Old Absinthe House for several years? He will perform! Walter "Wolfman" Washington, Tab Benoit, Robert Belfour, Marva Wright, Papa Grows Funk, Tinsley Ellis, Bobby "Blue" Bland to name a few who will be singing for you.

There will also be a "Walk the Beat" 5K walk/run to support the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation for all you healthy people. ha! Entry fee is $20 in advance or $25 on site. Runners & walkers will receive a complimentary commemorative T-shirt. Race starts at 9:00 AM. The festival is presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.

2nd Annual Crescent City Blues Festival

Free of charge!

Friday & Saturday

10/19/2007 & 10/20/2007

Lafayette Square Park

Across from Gallier Hall on St. Charles Avenue

Music starts @ 4:00 PM Friday & 11:30 AM Saturday

New Orleans Desktop Wallpapers : Street Scene & Natchez Steamboat

Yes, you got here just in time! Ha Ha, Here's some really wonderful New Orleans desktop wallpapers you can use in a MySpace layout or just to change your computer desktop background. The 1st image is in color & shows the famous Natchez Steamboat... docked & ready for passengers. It's not a true New Orleans experience without booking a ride on one of these babies ~ taking a ride on the mighty Mississippi River. The next NOLA wallpaper is a classic black & white photo showing a street band scene in the French Quarter. You'll see musicians like these every time you go. They're everywhere & it's just one of the charming things about this city....the great music! :)

Remember ~ we have another site dedicated to free, New Orleans themed wallpapers and images. Just click the link on the left side of this blog!

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VW Jetta commercial filmed in New Orleans

Volkswagen has some of the best commercials. Usually very witty & entertaining. This one is my absolute favorite. Bet you can't guess why?!! ha! It is called "Synchronicity" and came out in 1999 to promote the new 2000 VW Jetta. The ad was filmed on the rain soaked streets of the French Quarter ~ which couldn't be more perfect in my view. :) Music by DJ Master Cylinder. Speaking of music, how funny is it to see the passenger put in a cassette tape. Old school my friends!

"Art for Arts' Sake" ~ October 6, 2007

"Art for Arts' Sake" the annual Art Crawl event is this Saturday, October 6th! From 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. There are so many exciting artists, bands, galleries, restaurants and shops involved ~ it is impossible to describe it all. However, I will do my best for you. :)

You have to experience the 30 + art openings throughout the evening & the city. The French Quarter, Julia Street, Magazine Street and the Contemporary Arts Center are the hot spots. No matter what type of work you fancy ~ classical, sculpture, photography, jewelry or contemporary ~ you are sure to find it.

There will be a street party in the 300 to 600 blocks of Julia Street! Cash bars, music from the Panorama Jazz Band and food provided by Table One, Nirvana, Slice, Byblos, Riche by Todd English and La Divina Gelateria.

The best part? It is FREE to wander in & out of the galleries, antique shops, join in the street party crowd, etc.

Over at the Contemporary Arts Center, there will be several exhibitions ~ including the opening of a new Willie Birch show. (We really like his artwork.) It all starts @ 6:00 pm. The admission is $10, or free if you are a CAC member. The price of admission also grants you entry to the "Hot Jazz" afterparty from 7:00 to Midnight. The New Orleans Jazz Vipers, Pinstripe Brass Band and Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz will be playing.

Free shuttle service between Magazine St, CAC, Julia St and Camp St from 6:00 to 10:00 PM.

More Info ~
( 504 ) 528 - 3805
www.cacno.org

Contemporary Art Center of New Orleans

New Orleans is well known for the delicious Cajun/Creole food, live music, FUN, Southern charm and Bourbon Street. The art world is amazing in NOLA! I would like to encourage people to dive into the cultural, artistic part of the city when you are there. You will have numerous galleries, museums, etc to visit.

I've already mentioned the New Orleans Museum of Art in previous posts. This time, I want to tell you about the Contemporary Arts Center. We have enjoyed their varied and wonderful exhibits many times. CACNO offers a venue for local, new & established artists. Visual art works, music, dance.... if it is artistic, you can find it there!

Contemporary Arts Center

Located in the Warehouse/Art District

900 Camp Street

New Orleans, LA 70130

( 504 ) 528-3805

www.cacno.org

New Orleans NOLA THEME Desktop Wallpapers

For your viewing pleasure the NOLA-BLOG presents 2 wonderful computer desktop wallpapers you can use on your MySpace page or just to brighten your PC background! The 1st graphic is a vintage black & white photo of Louis Armstrong & Billie Holiday performing the song "I know What It Means, To Miss New Orleans". ( We have a YouTube video of that in an earlier post ). The 2nd delightful image is from a postcard of the St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square. Just click on the small photos up above for larger desktop versions, then right-click & save as background. Remember, we always have wallpaper at our NOLA-BLOG WALLPAPER PAGE, just use the link on the left-side of this blog.

Billie Holiday & Louis Armstrong - Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?